[外電] Boozer並不畏懼季後賽壓力

看板ChicagoBulls (芝加哥公牛)作者eertllams (Tree666)時間14年前 (2011/05/01 10:55)推噓1(1推 0噓 3→)

留言4則, 3人參與討論串1/1

http://tinyurl.com/437bmud By Vaughn McClure, Tribune Reporter 6:06 p.m. CDT, April 30, 2011 Playoff pressure no sweat for Boozer Bulls forward knows that compared with life-and-death family issues, basketball qualifies as the small stuff As families gathered at Miami Children's Hospital, Carlos Boozer knew what it meant for so many. "Whatever kid was in that room," Boozer said, "didn't have many days left." Boozer's 15-month-old son, Carmani, was just a few doors away, suffering from sickle-cell anemia. It's an inherited disease, one that causes a lack of healthy red blood cells. Instead, the misshapen cells — crescent moons, as the Mayo Clinic describes them — can't carry oxygen to the body as they should because they can get stuck and block blood flow. Living with the disease, Carmani would feel shooting pains throughout his body, a toddler short of breath and at jeopardy of stroke. A stem cell transplant could take care of the anemia. But the procedure could kill Carmani. Carlos and Cece — Carmani's mother and Boozer's wife at the time — decided umbilical cord blood would be transplanted into Carmani's bone marrow. The frozen cells came from Cameron, one of Boozer's twin boys born just a short time before. That was four years ago. "Cameron's blood is running through Carmani's body," the Bulls forward said last week. "It worked out perfectly." Carmani still gets checked once a year. Otherwise, he's a healthy kid living happily in Miami with his mother and brothers. Serious business Carlos Boozer is being his jovial self, gushing about Derrick Rose's immeasurable talent and playfully touting himself as the Blackhawks' "good-luck charm" after attending Game 6 of the Vancouver series. (He was a little busy helping knock out the Pacers during the Blackhawks' Game 7 loss.) Chicago recognizes this Carlos Boozer. He has been this man off the court since his arrival last summer, with the easy smile of a player who signed that big contract, the deal fans are holding him to more than ever in the playoffs. This is Plan Boozer, where the Bulls ended up after you-know-who took his talents elsewhere. Boozer's mood changes when the conversation turns to Carmani. His demeanor is serious. He is reflective, that personal ordeal forever changing what he considers real adversity. "It teaches you how precious life really is," Boozer said, remembering the profound effect of witnessing families losing their children. "You can't really sweat the things that don't matter." The mounting criticism he has received lately qualifies as one of the small things he won't sweat. Hurt or not (and he is, with turf toe that could keep him out of Game 1 against the Hawks on Monday), his inconsistent, foul-prone play during the Bulls' first-round playoff matchup with the Pacers raised questions about why the team invested $75 million over five years to lure him from Utah. "I'll tell you one thing: I don't listen to other people's opinion and criticisms," Boozer said. "I listen to my own criticism, my teammates, and my coaches. Regardless of the talk, I do what I have to do for my teammates. I'm a motivated dude." The Bulls' front office believes in him. "Carlos is a terrific guy, and he's been good for our team," said John Paxson, the Bulls' executive vice president of basketball operations. Being just "good" for the team might not be good enough for Bulls fans. Great expectations Mention Brian Urlacher, and watch what happens. "The Urlachers, they're like brothers to me," Boozer said of the iconic Bears linebacker and his younger brother Casey. "They really took me under their wing from the moment I got here." Back in July, Boozer met Brian Urlacher for dinner at Gibsons, now one of Boozer's favorite spots. The powerful linebacker had some advice for the power forward: Have fun every game. "I don't know if he's played in a city like this before, with the fans and the media like they are here," Urlacher said. "They expect you to win. And they expect you to do well." If Boozer, 29, wasn't fully aware when he signed, he certainly understands Urlacher now. His every move has been dissected, including a clumsy one at home when he tripped over a bag. It cost him the first part of the season with a broken right hand. Although he averaged 17.5 points and 9.6 rebounds in 59 regular-season games, his defense has become a punch line. Not that Rose is laughing. "This is a new system for everybody, and you expect a guy who missed all those games to come back and learn something just like that?" Rose said. "Sometimes I mess up." The Bulls didn't sign Boozer for his defensive prowess. They saw a player capable of scoring in bunches. They wanted the guy who stepped up in the playoffs, averaging 20.3 points and 12.5 rebounds in 44 postseason games entering this season. Boozer's offensive explosiveness was missing against the Pacers, and even he admitted the adjustment to coach Tom Thibodeau's offensive scheme hasn't been seamless. He perfected the pick-and-roll in Utah with Deron Williams. He's altered his game to fit with Rose. "I think D-Will might have the best vision in the NBA. And D-Rose, I don't know if I've seen anybody score as easily as he does. Maybe Carmelo (Anthony)," Boozer said. "Scoring is like breathing for D-Rose. But he's our point guard, so it's a little different. "It's an adjustment for everybody, and all part of the system. It's also an adjustment for me because this is the first time some of us have played with a true center (in Joakim Noah). That's why you have to give Coach Thibs so much credit for being able to coach us into this new system." While Boozer contends he pays no attention to naysayers, one line of criticism clearly got under his skin. Hall of Famers Scottie Pippen and Charles Barkley recently called Boozer out for a lack of physical play. "You know what? I think I'm the most physical player on this team," Boozer said. He'll have to show that against the Hawks, a team with size and length. Family man Boozer snickers at the nickname. "Family Man." It was hung on him his freshman year at Duke. Teammate Mike Dunleavy, now with the Pacers, explained. "A lot of times, we didn't see him outside of basketball because he was always with his girlfriend or with his family, so we called him 'Family Man,' " Dunleavy said. "Guys would be talking about what fraternity parties they were going to and then they'd be like, 'We're not talking about you, Family Man. You've got to go home.' " Boozer isn't ashamed to admit it. He met Cece a month before his freshman year. She cooked steak, potatoes and greens for their first date. He called back home to Alaska to brag to his mother, Renee, about meeting his new love. Three years later, they were married. Nine years after that, the couple finalized a divorce, an amicable parting "When you're going through a divorce, it's tough," Boozer said. "Anybody can tell you that. But we've gotten through the hard part of it." Rose jokes that Boozer is "having more fun than I am" in Chicago because Boozer lives in the city and Rose stays up north. As much as Boozer soaks in the nightlife, he scoffs at the notion that his lifestyle has completely changed. "Let me clear that up right now: I'm still a family man," Boozer said. "My kids come first. Cece is still very much my family. She's my best friend in the world. I'm very close to my brothers and sisters, my mom and dad. "That has not changed for me." Boozer sees his sons every other week. Carlos Sr. was just in town from Raleigh, N.C., for the clinching game against the Pacers, sitting courtside as his son struggled through a 1-for-4 shooting night with just two points in nearly 16 minutes. Before the game, the elder Boozer wondered why Chicago was punishing his son, with fans asking whether Taj Gibson might be a better option for the Bulls. "He's already accomplished so much,'' said the father, defending his son. "He said he was going to win a state championship in high school. He did that. He said he was going to win an NCAA championship. He did that. Then he said he was going to be an All-Star. And he did that. Olympic gold." What about an NBA title? "I don't know if I should jinx him," Carlos Sr. said. "I'm not going to answer that question." If it's going to happen this year, Boozer knows he has to be an integral part of the Bulls' title run. He's determined not to let his first-round struggles or a handful of injuries define his season. But that's not adversity. That's small stuff. He's known that for years, since he carried Carmani out of Miami Children's, healthy and alive. "How you shut the critics up is by winning," Boozer said. "I'm trying to hang banners here." vxmcclure@tribune.com -- ※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc) ◆ From: 98.212.125.50